App Review: Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution by 2K Games

Civilization Revolution is a well designed complex civilization game in which you set out to conquer the world as you build your civilization. You start out in the Stone Age and progress through all the ages of time to the Space Age. There are many different ways to help your civilization to dominate in the world as we have seen time and time again in history. There are many different things that make a civilization great and powerful. To win the game, you only have to achieve one of four goals.

The first way to win the game is to capture all of the capital cities. This feat requires that you build up strong armies and defenses around your cities. The second way to win is through the acquisition of knowledge and technology. You must create an advanced civilization and launch a space mission to Alpha Centauri. The third way to win is through wealth. You must collect 20,000 gold pieces. The last way to win the game is through cultural advancement. If you manage to acquire a total of 20 great people and wonders in your city, you can build the United Nations. These four different ways of winning allow you to decide what kind of leader you want to be and how you want to build your civilization. Do you want to be the world’s best diplomat or the world’s most feared tyrant? Either way, you have your work cut out for you.

There are two types of game play available. You can choose to play just a single scenario or random map. There are also 5 levels of difficulty to choose from. The variety in this game allows for limitless possibilities. The next thing to be done when you start the game is to decide which leader you want to be. All of the leaders are prominent figures from world history. Each leader comes with a few benefits that reflect that person’s place in history. For example, Montezuma (leader of the Aztecs) comes with some gold and wealth. Once, you have chosen your game type and leader, the game begins. On your first game, the app will offer a tutorial. This tutorial is very helpful in getting you started building your city and expanding your defenses. By the time I was done with the tutorial, I had a fairly good grasp on the game. If you do need some more help, there is a help section in the main menu that you can refer to for more tips. There is a lot of information to absorb at first. It may help to go back to it after playing the game for awhile.

One of the first things you need to do, as the leader of your civilization, is to build up defenses. Your defenses consist of units of warriors, archers, horsemen, and so forth. It does not cost you money to build up these defenses, but it costs you productivity points. These points are earned as your people work in the hills and the forests. The more productive they are, the faster you can build not only defenses, but buildings and wonders. Once you have built a unit, you can move it to locations around your city or give commands for the unit to dig in and defend the city. These units can be used to attack enemy troops and to explore the lands around your city. They can only move so far in each turn. When they can no longer move, the green square below them will turn red.

At the top of the screen is a date bar that shows the current year. After you have moved all the active units, the date bar at the top will turn to an “End Turn” button. This button does not mean that your turn is over. You can still move fortified units that are defending your cities, manage your cities, or initiate diplomacy with other leaders. When you are finished making changes to your city and units, tap the “End Turn” button to signal the end of your turn. After your turn is over, the leaders of the other civilizations have a chance to make their moves. Also, between your turns, time passes. The passage of time allows your people to make progress on units and buildings and other projects that they are working on. In fact, when you give the order to build anything, the time that it will take the people to complete the task is measured in turns not years.

If you find you simply cannot do without something and need units produced faster, as in time of war. You can use the “Rush” tab at the bottom of the screen. This tab will only appear when you have enough gold in reserve to pay to complete the task in only one turn. Only use the button when you must. It can wipe out your gold quickly. It is much better if you can prioritize your projects. The people of your cities can only work so fast.

One way to advance your civilization is to research new technologies. You can choose one technology at a time to have your scientists research. After the designated number of turns, they will deliver the technology to you. New technologies can lead to improved units, buildings, wonders, and even new types of government. There is even a map of technology progression to help you decide what your city needs. This map shows which technologies lead to others that you may or may not want for your civilization. If you manage to be the first to discover a technology, you get an added bonus. Watch out, though. Other leaders will inevitably get jealous of your progress. They may try to threaten you into sharing your knowledge and abilities with them in exchange for peace. In these times, the game turns into a type of choose your own adventure. You choose from the choices given how you will react to their demands.

The focus of your efforts, whether military, cultural, or knowledge-based, will largely depend on your method of domination. Civilization Revolution allows you control over nearly every aspect of your civilization. See if you have what it takes to take over the world against such historical greats as Napoleon Bonaparte and Julius Caesar. Civilization Revolution is as thorough as I have seen an app. It is sure to keep you hooked for days. Warning: Not for the casual player.